Score:   1
Docket Number:   WD-MO  4:18-cr-00285
Case Name:   USA v. Oberg
  Press Releases:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for a $145,000 fraud scheme in which he purported to sell classic automobiles that he did not actually own.

Travis D. Oberg, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court sentenced Oberg to eight years and four months for the conviction in this case, plus 20 months consecutively for violating the terms of his supervised release on an unrelated conviction for an earlier fraud scheme. The court also ordered Oberg to pay a total of $145,070 in restitution to his victims.

On April 4, 2019, Oberg pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of transporting a stolen vehicle. Oberg admitted that he engaged in a scheme to defraud persons who could be induced to purchase automobiles he offered for sale, although he did not own the automobiles and had no authority to sell the automobiles.

During the time he was engaged in this criminal fraud scheme, Oberg was under supervised release for a prior felony conviction. Oberg had been sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison after defrauding dozens of victims of more than $900,000. He was released to supervision in 2016 and immediately embarked on the fraud scheme in this case.

Oberg operated under the business name “Maaco” (after establishing “maaco sales and reconditioning LLC”) as a pretense to imply that he was involved in a legitimate automobile-related business. Oberg obtained photographic images of the automobiles and images of title documents. He showed the images of the automobiles and title documents to buyers to bolster the pretense that he was authorized to sell the automobiles. After a buyer agreed to purchase an automobile, and after a buyer sent payment for an automobile, Oberg sent text messages and email messages giving false excuses and false information regarding failure to deliver the automobile.

For example, a victim in Connecticut paid $53,000 to purchase four classic automobiles: a 1973 BMW, a 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL, a 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, and a 1967 Jaguar XKE 2+2 Coupe. Oberg did not own these vehicles, and had no authority to sell them. He refused the victim’s demand to refund the money when he failed to deliver the automobiles. Oberg then induced another victim in California to purchase the same 1967 Jaguar and 1985 Porsche he had purported to sell to the victim in Connecticut. The California victim paid Oberg $37,000, but the automobiles were never delivered, nor did Oberg refund the purchase prices.

Oberg also admitted that he induced another victim into a consignment agreement for the restoration and sale of a 1957 Thunderbird. Oberg falsely represented that he would restore the Thunderbird and sell it on the victim’s behalf. Oberg did not tell the owner that he sold the automobile to a person in Connecticut for $12,500 and shipped the automobile from Missouri to Connecticut.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom Larson and Matthew N. Sparks. It was investigated by the FBI.

Docket (0 Docs):   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r7Sd8MCmxDFNkl73yQdLCE0iAt1ljJPRMzOW3PTf17k
  Last Updated: 2023-10-16 14:13:01 UTC
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY

Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5

Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15

Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1

Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2

Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fourth highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE4
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE4
Format: A3

Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5

Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8

Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10

Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2

Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Format: YYYY

Data imported from FJC Integrated Database
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